5.  The applicant was born in 1952 and lives in Sofia.
6.  On 15 September 1994 the applicant, who had several convictions and had served a number of prison terms, was charged with the theft of construction material from a warehouse. It was alleged that he had been one of the members of a group that had committed thefts.
7.  The applicant did not appear when summoned for questioning and on 26 July 1995 he was arrested and remanded in custody, by order of an investigator or a prosecutor. He remained in detention throughout the investigation proceedings and the trial.
8.  On 10 March 1997 the Sofia City Court acquitted the applicant. He was released on 17 March 1997.
9.  Upon the prosecutor's appeal, the acquittal was upheld by the Supreme Court of Cassation on 11 December 1997. The Supreme Court of Cassation found, inter alia, that at the outset there had been clearly insufficient proof of the applicant's involvement in the thefts. In particular, a police officer had testified that the only reason for suspecting the applicant had been the presence of his name on an internal police list of nicknames as the person behind the nickname “Kolio Transki”.
10.  On an unspecified date in 1998 the applicant brought an action against the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, seeking damages in respect of his pre-trial detention. He relied on section 2 (1) and (2) of the State Responsibility for Damage Act (see paragraphs 22-25 below).
11.  The applicant sought non-pecuniary damages for the suffering caused by his pre-trial detention, which had lasted one year, seven months and twenty-one days. In his initial claim he sought 11,000,000 “old” Bulgarian levs (“BGL”). In the course of the proceedings he increased the claim to BGL 47,000,000 (the equivalent of approximately EUR 23,600), including interest, which in his view was to be calculated as from 26 July 1995, the date of his arrest.
12.  The Sofia City Court delivered its judgment on 9 February 1999. It held that the State was liable to pay all damage suffered by the applicant as a result of his “unlawful pre-trial detention” and the “unlawful bringing of charges” against him.
13.  The court stated, inter alia:
“[The Chief Prosecutor's Office] has not exercised the necessary supervision over the Sofia City prosecutors and the investigation authorities which, during a period of [more than two years], mounted an unjustified criminal prosecution against [the applicant] on charges of theft ...They remanded him in custody, imposing the harshest measure of judicial control, which resulted in [the applicant] spending nineteen months and fifteen [sic] days in detention...[The applicant] has undoubtedly suffered non-pecuniary damage... ”
14.  As to the amount, the court considered that the length of the detention should be taken into consideration and rejected as unproven the applicant's contention that his health had deteriorated as a consequence of his detention. Deciding on an equitable basis, the court awarded to the applicant BGL 2,000,000 in non-pecuniary damages (the equivalent of approximately EUR 1,050) plus interest from the date on which the applicant had been acquitted with final effect, 11 December 1997. The court dismissed the remainder of the applicant's claim for damages.
15.  The court further applied section 10 § 2 of the State Responsibility for Damage Act (see paragraphs 20 and 21 below) and ordered the applicant to pay BGL 1,800,000 (the equivalent of approximately EUR 940) in court fees. That amount represented 4% of the dismissed part of the applicant's claims.
16.  The applicant appealed to the Sofia Appellate Court. He averred, inter alia, that the sum awarded in damages was too low and that it was unlawful to order him to pay court fees in an amount almost equal to the compensation award.
17.  On 13 December 1999 the Sofia Appellate Court dismissed the appeal. As regards the court fees, it stated that section 10 § 2 of the State Responsibility for Damage Act was unambiguous and required the payment of court fees proportionately to the dismissed part of the claim. In the applicant's case, he had indicated an excessive amount in his claim and had thus himself brought about the situation complained of.
18.  The applicant submitted a cassation appeal to the Supreme Court of Cassation which was dismissed by judgment of 16 August 2000. As regards the costs, the Supreme Court of Cassation reiterated the position taken by the Sofia Appellate Court. It stated that although no initial payment of court fees was required when bringing proceedings under the State Responsibility for Damage Act, in accordance with its section 10 § 2 the plaintiff was liable for fees in an amount proportionate to the dismissed part of the claim. By setting his claims at an excessive level, the applicant himself had caused his liability for a substantial amount in court fees.